Fu Baoshi

CHINA, Jiangxi, Nanchang

Fu Baoshi was a painter and art historian who had an original name of Changsheng. His name later changed to Ruilin, but he was more commonly known by his alias, Baoshi. Fu studied Eastern art history in Japan, after which he returned to China and pursued a career in art and art education. He later served as a professor and principal of various arts academies, as well as vice chairperson of the Chinese Artists Association.
Fu was highly skilled in landscape and figure painting, but was also good at calligraphy and seal engraving. In his early years, he modeled his landscape painting style after the works of ancient artists, particularly that of Shitao. Using traditional methods as a foundation, he integrated old and new by incorporating the Japanese ink-wash technique to create an innovative style. The “Baoshi chapping” technique was pioneered by Fu. In this method, powerful strokes with a spread brush-tip in an ink-wash were used to spontaneously draw landscape, trees, and rocks. The majority of Fu’s landscape paintings in his later years were of natural scenery, and the particular style he employed started the Jinling school of landscape painting.
Figurative paintings by Fu were influenced by Gu Kaizhi and Chen Laolian. His subjects were often derived from famous ancient literature, and he sought to convey the spirit of each character by placing an emphasis on the visual portrayal of their inner personalities. Fu’s paintings of Avalokitesvara in a White Robe was revolutionary due to his depiction of the Bodhisattva as an ordinary woman without luxurious clothing.
Chronicle of Master Shitao, Historical Changes in Chinese Paintings, History of Ancient Chinese Landscape Painting, Chinese Landscape and Figure Painting Techniques, and Chinese Painting Theory are some of the written works published by Fu.
Several of Fu’s paintings are kept in various museums and institutes around China. His extant Buddhist painting, Departure at Huxi, is kept at the Nanjing Museum in Jiangsu. Other paintings include Amitayus Buddha and Master Shitao.